Costco Water Ridge Dual Flush Toilet Review & pictures

As of February 20th 2009, the Water Ridge Dual Flush from Costco is no longer on their web site.
If you bought one, it's now an orphan.

Click to expand...

Costco is introducing a new Dual Flush Toilet that is rated as 1.6gpf and 1.1gpf respectively and it has a “Fluidmaster” 2” valve system. The name of the unit is “Waterridge” Item No. 386082 and it is made in China, seemingly for Costco. Waterridge appears to be the manufacturer. September 14 2007

I cannot find any information on the Web (including TerryLove) regarding this toilet or its manufacturer. Is this a quality toilet? Would I be flushing my money down the toilet if I purchased, actually two. My local water authority has no information about this product. I would appreciate any information or opinion you might have.
Thanks.

I threw away a Costco faucet that was in my kitchen, too many complaints from everyone that used it.
I hated it too.

My son installed a Costco disposer for a customer that was pretty cheaply made. I won't install those anymore. I say that because the last one I worked on had such a small inlet for the dishwasher that the air gap would leak over the kitchen counter. I would say that the drain hole was a little too small.

I looked at the WaterRidge when I was doing my regular shopping.
It looks like the standard builder grade stuff that I normally replace.
You won't see me selling something like that. One of the things I look at is the trapway. The WaterRidge has some pretty tight bends. The trapway may work for a while for "some" people. But eventually those bends will collect things. And those "things" tend to hang up paper.
There are no hardware stores that carry parts. If you need parts, keep the 1-800 number and the original paperwork. You will need to get parts from whoever supplied the container shipment. There is no manufacture called WaterRidge. That's a name that Costco slaps on generic product that the buyer picks up. Keep the paper work. If you wind up with an orphan, at least you weren't out much. As a installing contractor, that type of thing would drive me nuts; not having parts handy. I am afterall, a guy that loves fixing things. You need parts to do that.

I'm not liking this trapway. If you don't need much, then maybe. It's looking pretty small to me though.

Big Box stores just don't stock/sell quality plumbing fixtures. The aim at the mass market who is just looking for cheap merchandise. Toilets are an excellent example of this. The toilets they sell are cheap for a reason. They are poorly designed and made with limited quality controls. You would be better off to pay more to get more from a quality plumbing shop.

If a customer tells me they want to get stuff from the box stores i tell the to goto a supply house that has a show room. If they have this crazy need to shop at a box store i tell them not to get the cheapest look at the middle prices or better.

I dont know a whole lot about Waterridge, but I have heard they are made by Danze, specifically for Costco. I did read a comment by someone who said that they had a Waterridge product, and what they liked about it was that the products had a lifetime warranty and that the customer service department was very responsive to any problems. Personally, I dont have any Waterridge products, so I cant speak from experience.

I do believe that most faucets come with a limited life time warranty. Thats not the bad thing but is it worth wasting time fixing something that breaks often, or waiting for a part to come in because you wanted to get a cheaper product.
What is your time worth fixing it when you have a problem.
Somebody posted something about a toilet company that said you can only flush single ply toilet paper. To test it you had to take a piece place it in a cup of water and shake for 10 sec's and make sure it broke down properly.

Hi, I recently saw a "Water Ridge" dual flush toilet from Costco selling for $200. Everything comes in one box, including wax ring and seat. Does anybody know who manufactures this toilet? Is it any good? Seems like a great price for a dual-flush, but I'm not going to buy if it doesn't flush well.

For that price, you should buy two. One to use, one waiting to be unclogged. Sorry, that probably wasn't too kind, but my friend, you get what you pay for. Sometimes you can get a break on the price of quality, but there's a limit. Hey, Costco is great...for somethings. Other Big Box stores are great...for somethings. But sometimes you just have to pay the price for quality. A toilet with chronic clogging problems would be no bargain even if free. Pay a tad more, get a Toto and it will probably outlive you and likely never need a plunge unless a child drops a toy into it. Things like that, even Totos sometimes can't handle.

I had a Costco faucet that came with the home I bought.
It was horrible. It's gone now.
I haven't seen any good plumbing products at Costco.
Of course, I'm a plumber, so I expect more.
But even the non plumbers in my household hated the Costco faucet.

Have you ever noticed that the only things Costco ever has for any length of time are their own Kirkland brands. ANYTHING else you buy from them could be extinct by next week when their current stock is sold, and then where will you be for service on your toilet, assuming they even know where it came from in the first place.

It may flush ok but it may not...you can take a shot at it maybe working well enough to not want to remove it after installing it because it doesn't flush well enough for you, or after placing it on the wax ring only to find it needs to be returned because of a mold casting problem, or a few other things.

Quality control,as well as engineering, is going down the "toilet" these days due to out sourcing and it is the customer who pays the price because of their trust in a large company who's name once stood for something.

For your information, I have bought the WaterRidge toilet several months ago from Costco. I have installed it myself (I'm not a plumber) and since then it works perfectly. I am using it every day but this is not the only toilet I have at home and this is not the one we use most.

I have another dual flush installed at my cottage that cost me twice the price and this one generates some minor problems on occasion. This one seems to have a problem when you use the 3 liter flush for I would say a significant "load" but if you use the 6 liter flush, everything works perfectly.

The difference between the 2 toilets is the flush itself. I will try to explain the best I can. With the more expensive toilet, the flush is similar to any other toilet except that the quantity of water varies depending on the fact that you use the 3 liter button or the 6 liter button.

The WaterRidge flush is somehow unusual to a point that I thought that there was something wrong with it. So I have checked everything even though the installation papers say that everything is preset and there is no need for adjustments. I gave it a try for several days before deciding whether I should return it or not but I have realized that was the way this unit works and it works perfectly to a point that I am planning to buy another unit in the near future.

Hope my experience will help you make your mind. Maybe I am lucky but one way or another, I believe that I have made a very good deal.

I bought two of a different model Water Ridge toilet from Costco - that was $100 for everything included in the box. After installing the first one, the second one is going back to Costco. Of course, I didn't expect the greatest toilet in the world for $100 and part of the frustration I had may not even be the toilets fault, but I won't be installing the second one. Actually, the toilet flushes fairly well. While I don't think it is a true dual flush, the tank holds more water than comes out in standard flush. Holding the handle releases more water, clearing everything I've given it so far.

Still, the bolts it came with were not brass and broke on me. The seat is crap, the tank does not sit well on the bowl (I think this has been discussed in other threads with other toilets) and the quality control is definitely lacking. Making things tougher, the flange is high after replacing time and I haven't found the rubber shims suggested in another thread. Since we're only planning on being in this place another year or so, I won't be removing this one, but wouldn't buy one again for my use. Maybe for a rental property.

Hello,
I too just bought one and tried it. I thought for the price, and Costo's return policy, why not. I just installed a Toto Aquia III in my master bath last week so had a high quality dual flush pot to compare to.

The costco unit was every bit as nicely fired and finished as the Toto. I stuck my fingers in the outlet and it appears to be fully glazed. As mentioned, it has everything in the box, including a new faucet and SS braided hose, brass floor bolts and neat chrome caps. The flush tower looks almost the same as the one in the Toto, slightly different but of the same quality and it has a fluidmaster fill valve. Hooked it up and turned on the water and it filled quickly and I was amazed how large the water spot was. Given the Toto has almost none, this one is huge. I first tried the half flush and it quietly and quickly flushed as it should. Later got to try the full flush and it worked perfect on the first try. Not to say this pot is better than or as good as the Toto but I can buy two for what the Toto cost and I had two more pots to change. Only thing it is low, like a regular toilet not high like the Toto which is ADA height. Oh and the included seat is only "so-so". It works okay, but isn't very sturdy. It sells for $169.99 in Austin TX, which is amazing for what you get. Plus I like the sorta "period style" it has..I am going to call them and order an extra flush tower just to have a spare (same with the Toto as nobody carries parts for these like HD or lowes). This pot uses a siphon jet flush with a pretty good wash down. I did turn the flush valve 180 degrees and turned the chrome button around so the buttons are the same config as the Toto. The costco unit has the full flush on the left but the valve will go in either way if that matters. The button looks the same as the ones on the Toto otherwise.

Just my 2 cents, and I am a homeowner, not a plumber..Still glad I put the Toto in the master as the "king's throne" but the costco unit will make dandy guest bathroom upgrades..
John

Hi,
I've had one of these for about a year now -- in fact the picture in the first post is of my toilet!

Works very well -- no problems. Ours cost $200, but I noticed last time I went to Costco the price was $169 -- we may get another one or two for the other bathrooms.

We find that the low setting of the 2 flush settings works fine for all situation -- we never use the high flush at all. It flushes better on the 1.1 gallon flush than our old toilet did on the 1.6 gallon flush.

I bought two of them they are good, only problem is seat very flimsy, called the CO 866-789-2273, told problem they are sending me new seats...have to wait and see if problem is solved, other than that all is good, arl.

I didn't know anyone carried these til I saw them at Costco. Got two. One has been trouble free. On the other when you use the large flush, the stopper valve doesn't seal half the time. So I go back and jiggle it and it drops down. These are not visible since they are inside this plastic column. Can't see what's sticking. I tried a little silicon spray without luck.
Any ideas

I would contact Costco for the new part.
I've never heard of dual flush flush valves sticking with other brands,
And you can't just swap from some other manufacturer.

If they are selling it, they should have parts too.

I've sold over 200 of the Toto Aquia dual flush, and they don't have that issue.
The Aquia has been pretty much bullet proof.

I just checked the Costco web site
They no longer carry the WaterRidge dual flush, so I hope you kept your paper work.

I see a pressure assist dual flush on their web site now, that must use the Ecoflush from WDI Technology. I've been selling Gerber with those dual flush tanks, half of those have been coming back with lever problems. They quit being dual flush and only one side of the flush works. I don't have a fix for those yet.